Jim looked out the window at the last red leaf dangling from the tree out front. It rattled in the wind, and was finally torn off and blown away. Jim let the light curtain fall.

Soon the Pumpkin Spice items were taken off the menu, replaced by dark chocolate and mint flavored options. Snow had begun to fall.

Winter had arrived.

Every morning Jim trudged to work through the snow. Sometimes there was only a little on the ground, sometimes there was a lot. Sometimes it was still snowing by the time Jim got out there, and sometimes it wasn't.

The shoppe was relatively busier, everyone wanted a hot cup of coffee to help them through the cold day. This meant extra help was needed.

The new employee was a short girl named Denise. She had bright red hair and freckles dotted her heart shaped face. Her nose was small and triangular, scooping up at a point. She was lovely and kind, and she had a good soul. Jim liked her a lot.

He showed her the ropes; gave her a tour of the ingredients, taught her how to work the machine, told her which customers to be wary of and which ones were okay. She was a fast learner, which meant that Jim wasn't completely frustrated with her.

Lots of customers flirted with her, to which she responded politely. She only flirted back to women, which made Jim like her even more. And it was utterly adorable that she had to stand on a stool while working the register. He soon began to think of her as his little sister.

And then he started to miss his real little sister.

So for the first time in four years, he called Janine. And they talked for hours.